February 6th 2026
Oral semaglutide (Wegovy; Novo Nordisk) expands GLP-1 weight-loss options, but pharmacy budgets and health care cost pressures persist.
Dr Dennis Scanlon Says More MA Options, Benefits Significantly Reshape Medicare
February 22nd 2023Dennis Scanlon, PhD, professor of health policy and administration at the Pennsylvania State University, discusses how extra benefit coverage and the choice to shop for plan options are some factors driving Medicare Advantage (MA) program growth.
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CMS Practice Assessment Tool Validity for Alternative Payment Models
Using data from 632 primary care practices, the authors show that the CMS Practice Assessment Tool has adequate predictive validity for participation in alternative payment models.
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CMS Outlines 3 New Drug Pricing Models Targeting Wide Scope of Therapies
February 14th 2023Targeting everyday chronic conditions to rare diseases that require costly, sometimes 1-time treatments, CMS Tuesday announced an intent to test 3 new models in an effort to lower drug prices and widen access to expensive, life-changing therapies for patients in Medicare and Medicaid.
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Pediatric Oral Health Services in Medicaid Managed Care and Fee for Service
Rates of preventive oral health services among pediatric medical visits in Florida were similar whether visits were paid via Medicaid comprehensive managed care or fee for service.
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Dr Dennis Scanlon Discusses IRA Part D Changes Intended to Expand Access
February 12th 2023Dennis Scanlon, PhD, professor of health policy and administration at the Pennsylvania State University, discusses some of the reasoning behind Part D benefits changes in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the cost questions that remain.
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CMS Releases Guidance on the Math Behind Part B, Part D Drug Rebates
February 10th 2023The Biden administration released 2 sets of guidance documents for pharmaceutical manufacturers about how it plans to implement the new Medicare Prescription Drug Inflation Rebate Program as required under the Inflation Reduction Act, and said some beneficiaries could see lower coinsurance for some Part B drugs as soon as April 1.
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Examining Trends in Outpatient Cancer Costs in Medicare During Last 6 Months of Life
February 7th 2023Drug costs, particularly for immunotherapies, contributed to the rising cost of care during the last 6 months of life for a fee-for-service Medicare beneficiary, according to a recent study.
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Dr Dennis Scanlon Discusses the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Medicaid Coverage
February 1st 2023With the public health emergency soon coming to an end, people covered by Medicaid will encounter new barriers, discusses Dennis Scanlon, PhD, professor of health policy and administration, Penn State University.
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IRA Insulin Cap Could Have Saved Medicare Beneficiaries Millions in 2020
January 30th 2023An HHS report said that if the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) had been implemented in 2020, Medicare Part D beneficiaries could have saved a total of $734 million, averaging out to about $500 per member.
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Adding Social Factors to Risk Adjustment Not Enough to Reach Health Equity, Paper Says
January 12th 2023To best improve health equity, population-based payment models should both incorporate social goals and increase payment for historically marginalized communities, a recent study has found.
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Dr Ken Cohen Offers Possible Solutions to Reducing Wasteful Health Care
January 12th 2023Creating new incentive models and transparently sharing data in a way that changes behaviors are 2 ways to reduce low-value care in the health care system, explains Ken Cohen, MD, director of translational research for Optum Care.
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Associations Between Physician Practice Models and Health Information Exchange
January 11th 2023A survey of all Arizona physicians found that accountable care organization, clinically integrated network, or integrated delivery network participation was associated with higher use of health information exchange. However, there are exceptions and important barriers noted.
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Allina Health’s Mike Koroscik on Helping Patients Navigate Cancer-Related Financial Toxicity
January 6th 2023We want to make it easy for our patients to manage and navigate the financial toxicity they encounter from their cancer care, noted Mike Koroscik, MBA, MHA, vice president of oncology, Allina Health and the Allina Health Cancer Institute.
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Top 5 Most-Viewed Reimbursement Content in 2022
December 30th 2022The top 5 pieces of content published on AJMC.com relating to reimbursement issues included 2 on the significance of a California law giving Medicare beneficiaries access to expert oncology care; other articles looked at the work involved in value-based care models and CMS news.
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Dr Vineet Arora: Balancing Reimbursement Incentives With What Matters to Clinicians
December 18th 2022Our current health care reimbursement system rewards procedures and undervalues the time spent talking with patients and learning their history, which speaks to the need for primary care redesign, according to Vineet Arora, MD, MAPP, dean for medical education at UChicago Medicine.
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